Game apparatus



HARRY S. COOVER, 0F PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

GAME APPARATUS.

Application filed December 23, 1918.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HARRY S. Coovnn, citizen of the United States, residing at Philadelphia, in the county of Philadelphia and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Game Apparatus, of which the following is a specification.

One object of my invention is to provide game apparatus which will afford amusement and which will require skill and patience to manipulate.

Another object is to make the apparatus of my invention of a simple and strong construction and so that it can be manufactured at a small cost.

These objects, and other advantageous ends which will be hereinafter described, I attain in the following manner, reference being had to the accompanying drawings in which Figure 1 is a perspective view of my invention with the lid or top cover removed,

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the apparatus shown in Fig. 1, the parts being in a posi tion ready to start the playing of a game,

Fig. 8 is a view of similar nature to Fig. 2 showing the parts in the position which they must occupy when the game has been finished, and

Fig. 1 is a sectional view taken on the line 1% of Fig. 2 with said lid or cover thereon.

Referring to the drawings, 5 represents the box or tray which, when not in use to play the game, is provided with a cover 6 (see Fig. 4:). The tray 5 includes a base board 7 having two parallel grooves 8 and 9 cut in its upper surface and spaced apart.

Strips 10 and 11 of tough card-board or other suitable material are mounted within the grooves 8 and 9 and provide partitions dividing the interior of the tray into three compartments 12, 13 and 14:. The partition 10 has three openings 15 therein, as clearly shown in Fig. 1. The partition 11 has two openings 16. The openings 15 and 16 extend from the baseboard? upwardly to provide passages for balls to roll therethrough, as will hereinafter be more fully described. The holes 16 are out of alinement with the holes 15, as clearly shown in Figs. 1 to 3 inelusive.

in playing the game with my apparatus, two series of balls are employed, the series being of different characters. For example, four black balls and four red balls can be Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 20, 1920.

Serial treatises.

employed, making eight balls in all. In the accompanying drawings, it will be considered that the balls 17 are black balls and the balls 18 are red balls.

in playing the game, all of the balls are placed in the compartment 12, the idea being to roll the four black balls 17 through the openings in the partitions into the compartment 1 1, the game being won when all the black balls 17 are in the compartment 1% and all of the red balls 18 are in the compartment 12, as clearly shown by the arrangement illustrated. in Fig. The tray 5 is of such size that it can be conveniently held in the hands and tilted so that the balls can roll through the openings in the partitions.

The fact that the openings 16 are out of alinement with the openings 15, renders the movement of the balls diihcult, since a mere movement of'the tray to move the balls sidewise often causes other balls to roll out of the compartment in which they are intended to remain. Thcpartitions 10 and 11 extend from end to end of the box so that it is necessary, in. rolling the balls from the compartment 12, to roll them into the com partment 13 and then lengthwise of said compartment before they can be rolled through the openings 16. Furthermore, 1 preferably have the grooves S and 9 made continuous so that the portion of the grooves extend across the bottom of the openings and the balls are compelled to run across the parting in the base board formed by the grooves. This causes a slight extra jar to be imparted to the tray and very often disturbs the position of other of the balls causing them to move out of the position in which great care was previously exercised to locate them.

To make the game particularly interesting, the series of balls can represent opposing armies. The compartment 12 can repr sent territory invaded by the enemy army; the compartment 13 can represent a neutral zone. the boundary between the invaded territory and the land of the enemy, and the compartment 14: can represent the land of the enemy.

While I have described my invention as taking a particular form, it will be understood that the various parts of my invention may be changed without departing from the spirit thereof, and hence I do not limit myself to the precise construction set forth,

but considerthat I am at liberty to make such changes and alterations as fairly come within the scope or the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. Game apparatus including a tray; two partitions mounted within the tray and extending upwardly from the base thereof, said partitions being located respectively in spaced relation to the opposite sides of the tray whereby two compartments are provided adjacent the sides of the tray and an intermediate compartment is provided between said partitions; and two series of balls adapted to be initially positioned in one of said first compartments, each of said partitions having a hole within its length and extending to the base of the tray, the hole of one partition being out of transverse alinement with the hole of the other partition, the width of the intermediate compartment being greater than the diameters'of said balls, whereby when balls of one of said series are attempted to be rolled into the opposite one of said first compartments through said holes in the partitions, balls of the other series are capable of jamming said balls of said first series while in the intermediate compartment thereby rendering it difiicult to roll the balls of said first series from the intermediate compartment to said second mentioned one of the other compartments; substantially as described.

2. Game apparatus including a tray; two partitions mounted within the tray and extending upwardly from the base thereof, said partitions being located respectively in spaced relation to the opposite sides of the tray whereby two compartments are provided adjacent the sides of the tray and an intermediate compartment is provided between said partitions; a plurality of holes in each of said partitions in spaced relation within the length thereof and extending to the base of the tray; and two series of balls adapted to be initially positioned in one of said first compartments and which are capable of being rolled through said holes, the holes of each partition being out of transverse alinement with the holes ofthe other partition; substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have signed mv name to this specification in the presence or two subscribing witnesses.

HARRY s. ooovnn.

Witnesses NiARY A. INGLAR, CHAS. E. Po'rrs. 

